Dispensing device



IN V EN TOR. 1111! C A STINE DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Dec. 28. 1942 Oct.31, 1944.

Patented Oct. 31, 1944 I DISPENSING DEVICE Carl A. Stine, Van Nuys,Calif., assignor to Turco Products, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., acorporation of California Application December 28, 1942, Serial No.470,387

2 Claims.

My invention has to do with dispensers and, in its more particularaspects, relates to devices pe culiarly adaptable for dispensingpulverulent material such as powdered soaps and the like, although theinvention is by no means limited to such use.

Among its principal objects I aim to produce a dispenser which isextremely economical of manufacture and which at the same time is highlyefiicient and durable.

It is also among the objects of my invention to provide a dispenserwhich has a base portion to be stationarily mounted at the place of usewhile the container in which the product to be dispensed is sold may beused as the container element of the dispensing device and may bereadily applied to the base in a manner to seal the container againstleakage and exposure of its contents.

Another object is the provision of a dispenser in which the parts incontact with the material are efiectively shielded against becomingwetted.

Another object is to provide, in such a device, a simple and efiectivematerial agitating means.

Another object is the provision of a dispenser which may be locked inposition.

Still further advantages are to be derived from my invention and howthose as well as the objects hereinabove enumerated are attained willbecome clear from the following detailed description of one specificform of device in which the invention may be carried out, for whichpurpose I shall refer to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation, a part being broken away for illustrativepurposes;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view, a part being shown in section; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective of the bracket element.

In the drawing, the numeral 5 denotes the base having a conical hopperportion 6 with a dispensing orifice I through the center, whose outletend communicates with a surrounding neck 9 whose purpose will bedescribed. The bore of neck '9 flares outwardly at and adjacent itslower end it, said bore being of larger diameter than orifice 1 wherebyto provide a shoulder l2 of somewhat rounded cross-section.

In a hole M in the base I mount one leg of a spring member I5, whichspring member has a coil I5a and terminates in a relatively long leg[5b. Leg I 51) is looped about the inner end of a ball chain ll, whoseballs are of a diameter to be passable through but to rather snugly fitthe orifice 1 in the manner more particularly described and claimed inthe copending application of Vern O. Ring, Serial Number 347,333, filedJuly 24, 1940, which application matured into Patent No. 2,312,730. Aclosure disc I8 is mounted on the chain at a point spaced from the outerend of the chain, in position to engage shoulder I 2 to eifectively sealthe outlet end of the orifice 1 when the device is not being used. Theouter end of the chain I 1 extends through neck 9 and carries at itsouter end a ball [9 to be used as a pull element.

Around base 5 I provide an annular flange 20 whose top surface isprovided with an annular groove 2! of somewhat V cross-section. Acontainer 22, which may be taken as typical, for instance, of acardboard container of soap powder or the like in which the product issold by the manufacturer, is detachably mounted on the base by beinginverted and having its open end fitted over the base 5 with itsperipheral edge wedged in the V groove 2!. Cardboard being a relativelyeasily compressible material, the peripheral edge of the cardboardcontainer readily becomes compressed between the V-walls of the grooveto provide an efiective peripheral seal.

For mounting the dispenser on a wall W or the like I provide a wallplate 25 which has holes 26 for securing the plate to the wall, as bymeans of screws 27. I also provide a pair of diagonal holes 28 in theplate in which I mount a pair of diagonally upwardly and outwardlydisposed pins 29 which detachably fit into correspondingdiagonally-disposed holes 30 in the base 5, said holes opening throughthe bottom of the base. This bracket mounting structure renders itfeasible to employ wooden pins 29 since, in this combination, they arecapable of supporting all the necessary weight as well as withstandingall the ordinary stresses to which the dispenser is subjected in use. Infact, it is feasible to make the entire base and bracket structure ofwood or the like.

To look the base on the bracket,-I provide a pair of transverse holes 40in the base and registering holes 4|, one in each of the pins 29, andinsert in each pair of registering holes a pin 43.

These pins prevent the base from being removed from the pins 29 and,inasmuch as the outer ends of the pins 43 are covered by the side wallof the container 22, they are efiectively concealed and would beinaccessible unless the container were removed. Thus the container 22could not be removed from the base without spilling the contentsinasmuch as, in order to remove the filled container without spillingits contents, it is neces sary to first detach the base from the bracketand then reverse the container end for end until the base is at the topthereof.

Assuming the device to be used as a soap dispenser over a wash basin orthe like, the user, with the palm of his hand facing upwardly, graspsthe outer end of the chain immediately above the ball I!) between thefingers and pulls downwardly against the pressure of spring 15, duringwhich operation the ball chain 11 drags sufiicient of the powdered soapfrom the container through orifice I and .neck .9, it dropping onto thehand of the user. Release of the chain permits the spring to return thechain to normal position, with the disc l8 engaging shoulder IE to sealthe outlet. The movement of the spring arm I51) during thoseoperationsserves effectively to agitate the powder adjacent thedischarge orifice and also, during the dispensing operation, the outerend of the arm [5?) will abut the surface "6 of the base (dash lineposition of Fig. 2) and act as a stop to prevent further outwardmovement of the chain.

The neck 9 serves the highly useful purpose of preventing any part ofthe chain which might enter the orifice 1' from being 'wettedby the handof the user since the neck is preferably substantially as long as thelength of travel of the chain during the dispensing operation so that atno time does the wetted hand of the user contact that portion ofthechainwhich enters'the orifice. The flare ID of the neck 9 is providedto facilitate re-entrance of the disc i8 "into the neck.

Within its broader scope as defined by the appended claims, theinvention is susceptible of being carried out in other specific forms ofdevice and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the specific detailshereinabove described except to the extent that some of the claims mayrecite those specific details.

I claim:

1. A device for dispensing granular material comprising a containerhaving a base, a dispensing orifice through the base, a dredge chainextending from inside to outside of the container through the orificeand means for resiliently mounting the inner end of the chain, includinga spring element having one leg secured to the baseand an opposed legsecured to the inner end of the chain, the outer end of thelast-mentioned spring leg being of a length and shape to contact thebase upon movement of the chain outwardly through the orifice whereby tohalt further outward movement of the chain. 2. A device for dispensinggranular material comprising, in combination, a base, a containerresting on and separable from. the base, a dispensing orifice throughthe base, a dredge member extending through the orifice, and means forresiliently supporting the inner end of the dredge member independentlyof the container, including a spring having one leg secured to the baseand a second leg disposed imposition overhanging the orifice, the innerend of the dredge member being secured to the second leg.

CARL A. STINE.

